Writers of Historical and Not So Historical Fiction

M.J. Ortmeier

Welcome to the writing site of M.J. Ortmeier. We’re juggling lots of projects.

First, please enjoy a sampling of our story-telling by following the adventures of Mabel de Bellême (pronounced duh BEE-lehm), the original French Mean Girl. As we’re terrible at website creation, the chapters, thus far, in order are:

Of our full-length novels, Higher Minds is in the editing stage, Better Natures is a nearly completed first draft, The Shops on Cottonwood Street is a series that is just beginning development. These stories are all set in the universe of Mark and Jen Oberg.

Talvas the Ogre and Mabel de Bellême are stories about people extracted from the larger story of the Normans. They were written as a way of understanding who they are and their place in the larger picture, but also to get them out of the main narrative. Their stories are just too interesting to edit out entirely.

Higher Minds

Jen and Mark may be members of Earth’s most evolved species, but they’re still driven by urges that are fathomable only if they’re willing to go deep enough. There’s a trip to the zoo, lust, crazy ideas, misunderstandings, betrayals, cross-country flights, a couple of fights, and several waking dreams. Will they learn to use their Higher Minds to control their Lizard Brains in time to save their love?

Better Natures

It’s almost Christmas in Chicago, and Ian is looking forward to ending his book tour and visiting his family in London. Then he receives a message from someone who’s been dead for years, miring him in intrigues from his secret past. Can he extract himself, or–once he understands all that’s at stake and who needs his help–will he want to?

The Shops on Cottonwood Street

A series of stories about–you guessed it–the love lives of the proprietors of the shops on Cottonwood Street. Some have appeared in Higher Minds and Better Natures, and there are cameos by characters from those novels.

The Normans

This is a working title of a huge project about William the Conqueror. It’s the story we originally started writing, and we have 128,000 words. But, my goodness…

Talvas the Ogre

Chevalier Gaspard de Millet lives in a turbulent and changing world, but he never lost his ability to imagine. Before his sons leave home, he will instruct them in chivalry with a cautionary tale about a man, William de Bellême, who becomes a monster. When it seems an ogre has appeared in their midst, Gaspard must teach them a different lesson about villains and heroes.